Global Warming Issue - Coursework Example

Global Warming Global Warming is a term often heard and seen all around us. People are very familiar with this word but do they really know the meaning of it. It may appear as general knowledge to the public, but the lack of proper understanding of it may lead to an unethical environment. The paper will focus on global warming, it clearly definition, causes, and solutions. The climatic changes lead to the environmental changes around us. Global warming can, therefore, be defined as the increase in the average temperature of the earth’s surface (Archer, 2012). According to Archer, global warming is caused due to the effect of greenhouse gasses that often include carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions are from deforestation or from burning fossil fuels that tend to trap the heat that is meant to eventually escape from earth. (Archer, 2012). The Earth's climate is often caused by the first 6 miles or so of the atmosphere. It contains most of the matter that make up the atmosphere (Weart, 2003). A close study of this layer shows how thin it really is. In fact, if one were to view Earth from space, the main part of the atmosphere would seem to be only thick as the onions skin. It is through the realization of this fact that makes it even more evident to make an assumption that human beings can change the climate. The greenhouse effect is one of the major factors that cause global warming. Hence, a study of the amount of greenhouse gasses that humans spew into the atmosphere makes the assumption even more plausible. Different researchers have over the years come up with several explanations of global warming to ensure the proper understanding of it to the general public. According to Johansen (2011), global warming is described as the observed century scale ascending of the earth’s average temperature in its climate system and the associated effects. Numerous results of the evidence by scientists show the gradual warming of the climate system (Weart, 2003). Since 1970, the additional energy that has been stored in the climate system has diverted to ocean warming. Only 10% of it has remained hence leading to melting of the ice, warming of the continents and the atmosphere (Weart, 2003). There have been many observed changes since 1950s to now hence the changes appear to be unprecedented in these decades. In the present time, it is clear that technology has developed as compared to ten years ago. The greater the technology, the more the scientific understanding of global warming is seen to increase. The world now cannot be compared to the world decades ago. People have gained knowledge of global warming through thorough studies in the assessment of its causes and what can be done to end it. Scientists, through their assessments, are more than 95% sure that a huge percentage of global warming is as a result of intense concentrations of the greenhouse gasses (Archer, 2012) (Broome, 2014). Other human activities otherwise known as anthropogenic also play a role in global warming. In 2014, in its fifth assessment known as the AR5, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gave a report on the climatic changes. The Climate model projections that were summarized in this assessment showed that during the 21st century there is a likely situation that the global surface temperature will go up a further 0.3 to 1.7 °C (Broome, 2014) for their lowest emissions scenario. This is through the use of stringent mitigation. For the highest emissions, the temperature will go up from 2.6 to 4.8 °C (Broome, 2014). These readings and information have been recognized Broome in the climate matters, ethics in a warming world. Global Warming Causes have over the years been thoroughly analyzed by scientists. As seen above, the main cause of global warming is the greenhouse effect that leads to the production of carbon dioxide. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere becomes a major problem since it acts like a blanket thus trapping heat and causing the planet to warm up (Schneider, 1989). The carbon dioxide is released as a result of burning fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas for energy. Cutting down and burning the forest also leads to the accumulation of carbon dioxide which eventually overloads the planet’s atmosphere (Broome, 2014). The cutting of forests may be for a good cause such as to create pasture and plantations but people fail to see that the negative effects more than the positive effect. Certain agricultural and waste management practices worsen the problem. They do this by the release of other intoxicating global warming gasses that include methane and nitrous oxide (Broome, 2014). Global warming should be seen as a serious situation that needs to be addressed urgently. Carbon dioxide is a gas that can and does survive in the atmosphere for a long time. The carbon dioxide emitted in the air today will literally define the planet's climate in the future and also of the future generation. Everyone wants an environment with a great climate ethic. Climate Ethics is defined as an area of research that tends to concentrate on the ethical dimensions of climate change (Archer, 2012) and notions such as climate justice. Many ethical questions are raised due to the human-induced climate changes. Most of the public believe that most of the environmental, ethical issues do not and have not been addressed to the fullest in the climate change policy debates. It is also seen that the ethical questions are concealed and overlooked in climate negotiations and discussions. An important statement that has over the years been emphasized is that the people that are most responsible for the change in climate are not at all the same people as those who are mostly exposed and affected by the effects (Patz, 2005) In the scientific journal Nature, an article (Patz, 2005) established that the human-induced global warming currently being experienced by the world is already leading to 150000 deaths and over 5 million cases of disease each year mostly in the poor nations. As the warming increases, the more the deaths and disease cases will ascend. Such factors establish the fact that climate change is compromising life rights, personal security and liberty (Patz, 2005). Hence, it is concluded that ethical analysis of the global warming climatic changes policy must observe how the policy influences the basic human rights. The basic human rights are affected as a result of the risk of illness, injury and death from the wildfires, heat waves, flood rises and intense storms (Weart, 2003). One of the climatic changes is extreme heat. When high temperatures are pooled with high humidity, and they tend to be persistent for days, the extreme heat can lead to death. According to scientists, the rise temperatures are mostly caused by humans. It has come to a conclusion that the cold-related deaths are reducing while the hot temperature deaths are increasing (Weart, 2003). Another way that human health is jeopardized by global warming is by the Poor air quality. There are three key factors that come together and give out ground level ozone. It is experienced as poor air quality. The three elements include warm air, sunlight and pollution in the air. There is an increase in the poor air quality due to the High air temperatures that are fossil fuel pollution, sunlight and air currents remain just the same. People are faced with allergy related issues that through a keen study can be seen to be caused by global warming. The warm temperatures caused by the climatic changes and also the great concentration of carbon dioxide in the air leads to the rapid growth of plants hence the production of potent allergens (Broome, 2014). Some common allergens respond well to the high amount of the carbon dioxide in the air. These common allergens included plants such as poison ivy that are hazardous to people (Broome, 2014). The spread of diseases is also another effect of global warming on human health. Some mechanisms that take part in the spread of diseases seem to work efficiently in warm environments. Outbreaks such as cholera are caused by the warm waters that aid the bacteria in spreading and multiplying hence become a deadly disease to change the public health systems. Most of the diseases that attack the human body and become severe are caused by the bacteria that multiply in these warm areas. Eventually, global warming is the cause of the severe diseases which lead to death mostly in countries that do not have suitable and adequate medical care. Global warming is a major adversity to the planet, but the good part is that people can learn how to reduce and fight it. It affects public every day and not addressing it will eventually lead to major environmental implications. There are various ways of reducing global warming and, as a result, many people have turned to personally trying to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they emit. In the world today, cars have become the major creators of the carbon dioxide gas released in the air (Schneider, 1989). Burning of fuel in cars leads to an increase in global warming on a daily basis. The knowledge of how cars lead to global warming is very important since people know exactly how to try and reduce the global warming (Weart, 2003). It is by choosing to travel in large groups, as in buses, that a person reduces their carbon dioxide releases on a daily basis. This is effective even though it is by a small percentage. The replacement of Plastic Water Bottles with the reusable One is another way of reducing global warming. Plastics create a large amount of garbage in the landfills which then leads to the release of carbon dioxide and methane gas into the air. Therefore, it is by simply switching the plastics with reusable ones that an individual can help in the reduction of global warming (Archer, 2012). In relation to this, people also need to learn how to fix the old items instead of throwing them away which leads to accumulation of trash and eventually global warming (Archer, 2012). It is through this simple act of choosing to sort items and knowing which to recycle and which not, that plays a significant role in reducing global warming The other way to help in reducing global warming is by choosing to purchase local products. The groceries that one can buy have a great influence on their carbon footprint. Choosing to buy goods from a local market reduces the energy and transportation that would have been required for delivering the goods (Archer, 2012). Hence, there is a reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide that would have been produced. Shopping is one of the daily undertakings that everyone does in their life. It can be seen that people normally contributed to global warming without having a clue that they are actually doing so. Having knowledge of the causes of global warming is what helps a person to known how to reduce it by trying to minimize the activities that lead to it (Weart, 2003). Many people fail to realize that global warming is a fight that can be conquered if people fight as individuals. It is the conscious decisions of an individual to take u the small actions that help to add up to huge and successful results. Some of the other conscious decisions that people should choose include: learning what type of car is best suitable for the environment. People should also learn how to compare the fuel economy before they buy the car. Proper care maintenance seems lie just a non-effective factor to the environment, but that simple deed will eventually come to the reduction of global warming. In conclusion, Global warming is a worldwide disaster that happen slowly and hidden, and it is not through gaining the proper knowledge that people realize that they set their own time bomb. The discharge of carbon dioxide to the air is something that the world’s pollution takes part in. The carbon dioxide leads to global warming that leads to climatic changes and in many cases leads to deaths and diseases in the poor countries. Global warming is a catastrophe that every individual should take part in overcoming. It is through the simple daily life activities that determine whether the future will become better or not. Learning about recycling, driving smart, buying local products are one of the many ways that an individual can help in reducing global warming. References. Archer, D. (2012). Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons. Broome, J. (2014). Climate matters - ethics in a warming world. S.l.: Ww Norton & Co. effects of global warming on health in humans Johansen, B. E. (2011). The encyclopedia of global warming science and technology. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO. Patz, Jonathan A; Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid; Holloway, Tracey; Foley, Jonathan A (17 November 2005). "Impact of regional climate change on human health." Nature (journal) 438: 310–317. doi:10.1038/nature04188. Schneider, S. H. (1989). Global Warming: Are we entering the greenhouse century?. Cambridge, Mass: Lutterworth. Weart, S. R. (2003). The discovery of global warming. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Read More